Rain, winds at cyclone speed lash Mumbai
In line with the Indian Meteorological Department's (IMD) prediction, heavy rain and high-velocity rains lashed the city of Mumbai for a second consecutive day on Wednesday. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's office has appealed to citizens to remain indoors.
According to inputs, wind speed gushing up to 106 km/hr was reported from Mumbai's Colaba area on August 5. This was way more intense than what Mumbai had to face during the recent cyclone Nisarg.
While a photograph of the BSE sign over the landmark Bombay Stock Exchange toppled over went viral, huge metallic panels from Jaslok Hospital in upmarket Mumbai were seen flying in the air in another viral video. Many homes lost their roofs that were made of tin shed. Navi Mumbai too witnessed chaotic scenes with cranes toppling over in the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust Area
As many as six complaints of walls and houses collapsing in various parts of Mumbai were brought to the attention of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) but no injuries have been reported yet.
In addition, 141 complaints of trees being uprooted in different parts of Mumbai came to light on Wednesday. A video of a tree falling on Western Railway (WR) tracks and sparks flying around with loud noise near Wankhede stadium also went viral. However, the railways wasted no time in rectifying the problem ensuring that it does not lead to any accidents.
Railway services too could not escape the wrath of incessant rain as rainwater inundated tracks. The Central Railway (CR) line between CSMT and Kurla has been temporarily shut along with Harbour line between CSMT and Vashi.
Authorities have arranged for shelters near railway stations for stranded commuters.
Meanwhile, teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) rushed to the Masjid railway station in south Mumbai on Wednesday after reports of two local trains getting stuck between Masjid and Bhaykhala station came to light. Deputy Commandant Ashish Kumar of 5 BN NDRF arrived at the spot with his team and is carrying out rescue operations in the area.
As many as 150 passengers from the first local on its way from CST to Karjat have been rescued by railway staff. About 100-120 are still suspected to be inside. Another local, coming from Karjat to CST is stuck at about 60 metres from Masjid station with 50-60 passengers onboard. Rainwater about 2.5-3 feet high has reportedly inundated railway tracks in the area.
In light of the evolving situation, 15 teams of the NDRF have been deployed across Maharashtra to engage in rescue operations. Two of these teams are enroute Kolhapur, another two to Sangli while one team each has been stationed in Satara, Thane, and Nagpur. At the same time, three NDRF teams have been deployed in the city of Mumbai and another two are enroute.
According to the BMC, Mumbai recorded 170.6 mm of rain up until 6 pm on Wednesday. The Santa Cruz Met recorded 65.8 mm of rain in the suburbs while the Colaba Met recorded 229.6 mm of rain in the city. Similarly, the Eastern suburbs recorded 59.34 mm of rain and the Western suburbs recorded 56.03 mm of rain on August 5.
The first high tide at 4.41 metres was recorded at 1.18 pm while the second high tide at 1.40 metres was recorded at 5.27 pm.
As predicted by the IMD, the BMC also predicts heavy rainfall in Mumbai over the next 24 hours. The civic body has reported instances of waterlogging at Hindmata, Dadar TT, SIES College, Gol Deool, JJ Junction, and Bhendi Bazar junction in the city. Meanwhile, Postal Colony Chembur, Chunabhatti, CMT Road Kurla, Mankhurd station in Eastern suburbs and Andheri subway, Dahisar subway, National College Bandra in Western suburbs also reported waterlogging as a result of two consecutive days of relentless rain and high-velocity winds.
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